Did you ever say “boy they grow up so fast” when you think about the kids in your lives? I started to think about my children and how fast they were growing up, and that in a very short time (not too short) they will be meeting someone, getting married, starting a career, a family, and buying a home.
As I watch them grow and realize how close they really are to being the “next generation of buyers” of our services, it made me think about how they communicate with each other and the world around them. How they receive information, and how quickly they can get the information they need to make decisions. It also made me think about how we currently market our businesses to our current customers and how a lot of that has to change if we want to reach this new generation of consumers.
Ask someone who is 25 years old or younger if they have ever used a telephone book to find a business, heck, ask them if they have even opened a telephone book. When they have a question about a product or service, where do they go? I think we all know the answer to that. The tools we all used and relied on to let our customers know where we were and how they could contact us are no longer convenient to our future customers. The internet, electronic devices, email, and digital technology are how we are all communicating now, and is the only way they know how. The sooner we realize this and adjust our marketing strategies, the longer we will be able to remain viable and profitable companies. Ignore it or don’t realize to the extent that it exists and I can assure you your business will struggle.
The last statistic from the census bureau in 2015 estimated that 79% of homes had at least one computer AND 77% had access to the Internet. Think about that and think about how our customers look for and buy what they need. With that statistic from over 3 years ago, it is hard to imagine a business, no matter how small, that doesn’t have a website with some presence on the internet and an email address that doesn’t end in gmail.com or yahoo.com.
Look at your business and then look at how your customers hear about you and how they find you when they need your services. Consider your competition and think about how potential customers will decide between you or your competition. Then look at your marketing efforts and see how you are communicating with not only your current customers but more importantly your future customers. At that point decide if you are doing enough with the internet, enough with email, and enough to get the attention of all of us who are beginning to embrace the digital world and those who are growing up with nothing else.
About the Author:
Tony Pires is the Director of Operations at CFS, Inc. in Norton, MA. Tony serves as a leader in developing new business and strategic partnerships with our clients. You can contact him at [email protected] or click here to connect with him on LinkedIn.
